Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney candidates spar at debate

HAMPTON — — Two Democratic candidates for Hampton's top prosecutor post sparred Tuesday in a spirited forum at Hampton City Hall over voting histories, residency issues and money for a witness protection program.

Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell, one of the candidates for the post, assured the audience that he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race, telling a questioner that any notion that he voted for John McCain that year is false.

His opponent, Dee Vantree-Keller, has been contending in recent weeks that she's the "only Democrat" in the race, in light of Bell's statement to pastors that he voted for Mike Huckabee in the 2008 Republican presidential primary.

"Voting in a primary is totally different from voting in the general election," Bell said Tuesday. "It's not uncommon for people to vote in a primary when you want to get a weaker opponent on the ballot."

He said he planned to vote for Barack Obama this year, too.

More than 125 people attended Tuesday's event, sponsored by the Democratic City Committee. Bell and Vantree-Keller are facing off in the June 12 primary in the race to replace the retired Linda D. Curtis. No Republicans or independents are running.

In another key part of the debate, Vantree-Keller called on money to be found for a witness protection program and a mental health court, saying that a city that can afford to spend millions on a new courthouse can afford to protect witnesses.

"It's reprehensible to say I can't afford to keep (witnesses) safe," Vantree-Keller said, in response to a question from a woman whose son was gunned down in Hampton last year, with the killer not yet charged. "It's necessary that we allocate the funds."

She added: "When we are a city that is spending $10 million for a new courthouse (but have no money for a witness protection program), something is wrong."

Bell countered that the General Assembly hasn't provided funding for a witness protection program. And if it comes down to a decision between funding prosecutors' salaries and running a witness protection program, he said, salaries are the obvious choice. That way, he said, they can do the proper prosecutions to put the criminals away.

"It's the Police Department's job to keep the witnesses safe," Bell said. "We fight in the courtroom. We don't fight on the street. That's why the police have guns. ... It's not the Commonwealth's Attorney's job to get in a police car and drive around."

Bell said he's not going to make a promise he can't keep just for the sake of the campaign. "That means I'm going to give you lip service, and I'm not going to do that."

Bell and Vantree-Keller argued over Bell's residence. He has lived in Virginia Beach for most of his 12 years working in Hampton, moving here in January so he could fulfill the residency requirements of the job.

But Bell said that if living in Hampton were the main criteria, then half the audience would qualify for the post. He had the audience raise their hands if they had dealt with bridge-tunnel traffic.

"It's a beast," he said, saying he simply gets up early to cross the bridge. If he didn't care so much about Hampton, he said, he would have found a job where he could roll out of bed at 7:40 to be there by 8 a.m.

"I've been living in this city for 39 years," Vantree-Keller countered. "If someone has lived six months in the city, are they better suited to protect this city? ... If you cared about this city, why not move here, pay taxes here, serve a church here. We don't need you stuck in a tunnel for 12 years."